The eyes of the world are on Paris where the negotiations at the UN Climate Summit are aiming to cut emissions to stop global warming exceeding a +2°C level when compared to pre-industrial levels.

Communities, NGOs, political parties all across the world joined forces and brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets to protest in favour of a strong deal that will see a swift transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

RCN  was part of this unprecedented global action with about 100 people from Fjaler Kommune, including about 40 RCN students, marching with candles in the streets of Dale in the November rain. The keynote speaker was the leader of the local Green Party, Mark Taylor. The participants listened to speeches from all over the world – the College brought speakers from the Maldives, Vietnam, Tibet and Malaysia. Great to see the Environmental Pillar of the College flourishing!

Thank you to all who participated.

We are delighted to announce a new partnership between UWC Red Cross Nordic and The Horizon Foundation.

The Horizon Foundation’s mission is:

To improve the lives of children, families and communities in developing countries around the world, by offering education and care programmes. The Horizon Foundation was set up by Patrick and Kirkland Smulders in 2006 to help improve the lives of young people and their communities in various countries in the Middle East and Asia through education. It was born of a joint desire to give back through empowering young people and women to act as change agents in their local communities and to focus in particular on societies that we felt would benefit from strong leadership.’

The Horizon Foundation currently has UWC partnerships with UWC Atlantic College, UWC Maastricht and UWC-USA. It seeks to support students ‘from disadvantaged communities in developing countries, who would not otherwise have the means to study further, or to study abroad. They must be academically strong enough to be awarded the scholarship on their own merits and they must have the expressed desire to return to their home communities to improve them. They should also have experience of helping others, either through voluntary, community or political work, or have completed internships. Its target regions are the Middle East and Asia, with the majority of our scholars coming from refugee populations.’

To date, the The Horizon Foundation has educated in excess of 100 scholars from Tibet, Palestine, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, the Philippines and Afghanistan. Through its Haven programme, The Horizon Foundation has also supported education programmes in Bethlehem, Palestine; Ulanbataar, Mongolia; Kolkata, India; and Dharamsala, for the Tibetan community in exile.

Following discussions with UWC RCN’s Admissions Department, The Horizon Foundation has supported the selection and offered to sponsor Yangzom Dolma (Tibetan student currently living in India) and Yehya Al Haj (Palestinian student currently living in Lebanon). Yangzom and Yehya will join other UWC first and second year students who are supported by The Horizon Foundation.

For more information, please click here.